On a vehicle in which a high-voltage battery is mounted, such as an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle, a connector assembly is used for disconnecting a high-voltage portion of the battery. A conventional connector assembly of this type is disclosed in JP 2013-62043 A.
The connector assembly disclosed in JP 2013-62043 A is a lever-type connector assembly. The rotating operation of a lever moves a second connector to be mated with a first connector or separates the second connector from the first connector. The first connector includes a first power terminal of a power circuit and a first signal terminal of a signal circuit. The second connector includes a second power terminal and a second signal terminal. The second power terminal is connected with the first power terminal and the second signal terminal is connected with the first signal terminal when the second connector is mated with the first connector.
In the lever-type connector assembly of JP 2013-62043 A, when the second connector is separated from the first connector, a predetermined time lag is provided between the time when a first signal terminal and a second signal terminal are disconnected and the time when a first power terminal and a second power terminal are disconnected. The current to the power circuit is stopped first by releasing the connection between the first signal terminal and the second signal terminal included in the signal circuit. Then, the connection of the first power terminal and the second power terminal included in the power circuit is released, in order to protect an operator from an electrical shock.
In the lever-type connector assembly disclosed in JP 2013-62043 A, however, the following drawback has been found. Both the second signal terminal and the second power terminal are secured to a connector body of the second connector. When the second connector is mated with the first connector, the second power terminal slides into contact with the first power terminal, and when the second connector is separated from the first connector, the second power terminal slides out of contact with the first power terminal. Due to the sliding at both mating and separation, the second power terminal and the first power terminal may be damaged.